Dwarf Timeline
Each Dwarfhold maintains extensive records, and so the history of the Dwarfs is thoroughly documented. What follows is a brief overview of the greatest events that affected the Karaz Ankor. Note that Dwarfs employ a unique dating system based on the founding of Karaz-a-Karak. These dates, along with those of the more commonly understood Imperial Calendar, are used below. The Time of the Ancestor Gods *0 (c.-5500 IC) -- No written records exist from this time, but legend relates how the Dwarfs, led by their Ancestor Gods, colonise the Worlds Edge Mountains. During this time Grungni teaches his people mining and how to make tools and weapons of iron and steel. Grimnir protects his people and defeats their foes — most famously slaying Urmskaladrak (the Father of Dragons). Valaya teaches the Dwarfs protective wards, the use of runes and the art of brewing. *1 (-4523) -- In her travels the Ancestor Goddess Valaya establishes many strongholds, but in this time of peril she returns to her favourite and to take up permanent residence. At her request, two pillars at the heart of the greatest cavern are carved out of living rock and she blesses them. These are the first of the thousands of pillars that eventually hold up the Great Hall of Karaz-a-Karak. This marks the founding year of Dwarf record keeping. *102 (-4421) -- Grungni makes the Throne of Power and gifts it to his eldest son, Snorri Whitebeard. Grimnir meets the Elves and, despite his gruff manner, establishes friendly relations. *103 (-4420) -- Grimnir fearlessly strides off into the Chaos Wastes and is never seen again. Shortly afterwards marks the last sightings of the other Ancestor Gods. The Golden Age *404 (-4119) -- Bereft of their Ancestor Gods for the first time, the Dwarfs name Snorri Whitebeard as their High King. Joining forces with Malekith of the Elves, Snorri leads the Dwarfs as they hunt down and destroy the last Chaos armies that threaten the Old World. Afterwards, trade flourishes with the Elves, and the Dwarfs, growing ever richer, found many new strongholds. *526 (-3997) -- Malekith fights alongside the Dwarf High King, Snorri Whitebeard, against a horde of Beastmen besieging Karaz-a-Karak. *c.500 - 600 (c.-3900) -- Considering themselves abandoned by their kinfolk and gods, the Dwarfs that remain in the Zorn Uzkul turn, in their need, to worship Hashut, the Father of Darkness. *1684 (-2839) -- The High Elf King Bel Shanaar visits Karaz-a-Karak and swears friendship oaths with venerable Dwarf High King Snorri Whitebeard. Malekith is made ambassador to the Dwarfs. *2335 (-2188) -- After many centuries, the Elves return once more to the Old World. The Dwarfs learn of the civil war amongst the Elves and the treachery of Malekith. The two races begin to trade once more. Bargains are struck and Dwarf craftsmanship reaches new heights of ambition and accomplishment. *2518 (-2005) -- The Great Betrayal mars relationships between Dwarfs and Elves. Many small battles take place. *2523 (-2000) -- In this year, Elves come from over the sea and set up a fortress near Krag Bryn. Their deceitful ways ferment ill will between the Dwarfs of Krag Bryn and Kazad Thrund. Eventually, Queen Helgar Thrundsdottir and Drong the Hard unite, both in marriage and on the battlefield, to settle their grudges, although it costs Drong his life. Karak Zorn, in the great mountains of the Southlands comes into conflict with the Lizardmen that dwell there. Little is heard of it hereafter. *2326 (-1997) -- Hoping to avoid war between the two races, the Dwarf High King Gotrek Starbreaker sends an ambassador to Ulthuan to demand recompense. He is summarily deported, but not before the Elves shave the ambassador's beard as a final insult. Thus begins what the Elves call The War of the Beard, however Dwarfs, who do not take such things lightly, name the campaign the War of Vengeance. *2549 (-1974) -- Snorri Halfhand, son of the High King, is slain by Caledor II after challenging the Elf King in combat. *2635 (-1968) -- Morgrim, cousin of Snorri Halfhand, kills the Elf Lord Imladrik at the ''Battle of Oeragor''. *2655 (-1948) -- The Elf city of Athel Maraya is burned to the ground by a Dwarf army led by Morgrim. *3003 (-1600) -- The Battle of Three Towers at the gates of Tor Alessi. The Dwarfs win in a cataclysmic battle for mastery of the Old World. Gotrek Starbreaker kills Caledor II and takes the Phoenix Crown. The High Elves retreat to Ulthuan or skulk into the woods of Loren. The Time of Woes *3023 (-1500) -- The Worlds Edge Mountains are riven with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions beginning a time of anarchy known as the Time of Woes. During this period, the records of many strongholds are lost or disrupted. Even the Great Book of Grudges in Karaz-a-Karak falls silent during this period. From what records remain it is clear that many Dwarfs are slain, all holds are damaged, countless mines collapse, and the Underway is partly ruined, blocked with rubble, flood waters or magma. The strongholds are all cut off from one another. Soon after the natural disasters the ''Goblin Wars'' begin. Karak Ungor is the first Dwarfhold to fall. It is renamed Red Eye Mountain by the Night Goblins. *3024 (-1499) -- Taking advantage of the damage wrought by earthquakes and flooding Skaven and Night Goblins invade Karak Varn and despoil it. *3025 (-1498) -- Orcs seize the mines at Ekrund from the vastly outnumbered Dragonback Dwarfs. Also, the watchtowers of Mad Dog Pass are taken over by Night Goblins and Greenskins pour in from the east. *3066 (-1457) -- The gold mines at Gunbad, the richest mines in the Worlds Edge Mountains and the only source of Brightstone, fall to Night Goblins. *3136-3156 (-1387 to -1367) -- ''The Silver Road Wars'' begin and rage around Mount Silverspear. The wars culminate after twenty years when Mount Silverspear is captured by Orcs led by Warboss Urk Grimfang. They rename the ruined hold Mount Grimfang. *3161 (-1362) -- The Dwarfs abandon the last of their mines and smaller settlements in the eastern part of the Wolds Edge Mountains. *3273 (-1250) -- Thunder Mountain erupts and the crusade known as the ''Troll Wars'' begins. High King Morgrim Blackbeard leads his forces to retake some minor settlements and refurbish and re-seal ancestor tombs damaged at the beginning of the Time of Woes. *3333 (-1190) -- Runesmith Kadrin Redmane leaves Karak Varn in search of vengeance upon the swarms of Skaven that have soiled the tunnels of the hold. *3338 (-1185) -- Kadrin Redmane clears the ruins of Karak Varn, driving the Skaven into the deeps. He discovers a rich vein of gromril and miners flock to Karak Varn to extract the coveted metal. *3387 (-1136) -- Orcs ambush and kill Kadrin Redmane on the shores of Black Water. Kadrin's last act is to throw his rune hammer into the water to prevent it falling into the enemy's hands. Within a decade the Dwarfs are forced out of Karak Varn once more. *3548 (-975) -- The Battle of a Thousand Woes. High King Skorri Morgrimsson leads a massive Dwarf army in an attempt to retake Karak Ungor. The Dwarfs clear the southern valley and gate, but are ultimately driven back. Skorri leads the remnants of his army back to Karaz-a-Karak and dies shortly after. *3773 (-750) -- Night Goblins attack Karak Azgal but are repulsed, but the greenskins go on to attack Karak Azul where they gain a foothold in the western halls and lower deeps. The Dwarfs fight for another ten years before they finally expel the invaders at great cost. *3803 (-720) -- First recording of the Dragon Skaladrak Incarnadine as it destroys several mines near Karak Kadrin. *3822 (-701) -- Miners working in the depths of Karak Eight Peaks break into a Skaven tunnel. The Dwarfs are alarmed at the extent of the ratmen's burrows. *3873 (-650) -- Baragor, the first Slayer King dedicates the great Shrine of Grimnir in Karak Kadrin and takes the name of Ungrim as his own. *4010 (-513) -- The ''Fall of Karak Eight Peaks''. Enemy attacks increase until daily life becomes a battle for survival. Using poisoned gas, the Skaven drive the Dwarfs into an ever-diminishing realm as one peak after another falls. King Lunn orders his followers to rune-seal the ancestor tombs before fighting his way out. He vows to one day return. *4054 (-469) -- Orcs destroy Karak Azgal although they in turn are driven out by a Dragon. Now with a taste for plunder, the Greenskins then attack Karak Drazh and take it, renaming it Black Crag. Over the following years the lands between Mad Dog Pass and Fire Mountain are taken over by Night Goblins save for Karak Azul. Although besieged, Karak Azul holds out, largely due to the influx of Dwarfs from the lost strongholds. *4143 (-380) -- Orc Warboss Ugrok Beardburner leads his Orc hordes to attack Karaz-a-Karak. The invaders destroy many smaller settlements and capture the Dwarf High King Logan Proudbeard, who never recovers from his great shame. Orc armies continue to rampage until the following year when they are defeated at the ''Battle of Black Water''. *4273 (-250) -- Led by those who settle the Grey Mountains, the Dwarfs intensify trading with the tribes of Men. *4420 (-108) -- Daled Stormbreaker leads an expedition to recover the lost treasures of Karak Azgal. The Age of Men Also known as the Silver Age. *4508 (-15) -- Orcs ambush and capture High King Kurgan Ironbeard, but he is later rescued by Sigmar, Prince of the Unberogen tribe. A great friendship is forged between the two races. *4522 (-1) -- The Battle of Black Fire Pass is won, a victorious climax to a long campaign waged by the alliance of Dwarfs and Men. After the battle, the nation known as the Empire is formed and Sigmar named as Emperor. The creation of the Empire opens up a new age for the Dwarfs. Many travel to the Empire where they help the Humans build their first cities. Dwarf masons, carpenters and smiths are much in demand, and Dwarf worksmanship is admired everywhere. As the Empire grows, the Dwarfs and Men establish valuable trading contacts and prosperity returns once more to the Dwarf realms. Dwarf and Human armies keep the Orcs and Goblins at bay. Several expeditions are mounted to reclaim lost strongholds, but none come to anything. *4733 to Present (210 to Present) -- The War of the Hammer. A mighty throng of Dwarfs march upon the city of Mahrak to retrieve a revered heirloom, the Hammer of Algrim. During the attack, the Dragon Slayer Drong Sternbeater is turned to sand when he charges headlong into a trio of Sepulchral Stalkers. Outraged at such an unworthy death, a thousand Slayers go berserk and blindfold themselves before descending upon Mahrak to avenge Drong's death. Amidst the carnage, the Hammer of Algrim is retrieved, and the Dwarfs return to Karak Azul, considering the matter at an end. However, the Hammer of Algrim contains a single disc of bronze belonging to King Alkharad, whose skeletal legions immediately set forth to reclaim it. Over the following centuries, the hammer exchanges hands over three dozen times. *4810 (287) -- Dwarf Miners discover the nest of the dragon Mordrak in the mountains south of Karak Azul. *4902 (380) -- The Dwarfs discover the Elves of Athel Loren with disastrous results. *5113 (590) -- The fall of Karak Vrag one of the few Dwarfholds established in the Mountains of Mourn. *5180 (657) -- Thori Gundrikson discovers gromril in the caves west of Black Water. The Dwarfs excavate tunnels and extract great quantities of the ore over the following years until the mines are found and destroyed by Skaven intruders. *5185 (662) -- The discovery of the Lost Heartstone of Aldin Getgold in the Dragonback Mountains by Dorin Heldour and Katalin Kandoom. *5207 (684) -- The restoration of the Axe of Dail by Dorin Heldour and Katalin Kandoom. The axe is discovered deep in the ruins of Karak Varn and is recovered and brought back to King Finn Sourscowl in Karaz-a-Karak. *5208 (685) -- Dorin Heldour brings the skin of the Dragon Fyrskar to High King Finn Sourscowl at Karaz-a-Karak, where the skin is engraved with runes. *5265 (742) -- Dorin Heldour and Katalin Kandoom rescue Elmador and Oldor Finnson from the dungeons of Black Crag. Elmador later becomes High King. *5415 (892) -- Kragg the Grim forges the Rune of Stone under the eye of his Master, Morek Furrowbrow. Kragg is to become the greatest and longest-lived Runesmith of his age. *5555 (1032) -- Skalf Dragonslayer slays the Dragon Graug the Terrible and claims the Kingship of Karak Azgal. The hold, however, remains infested by Night Goblins forcing Skalf to establish a town in the valley below the hold's old entrance. *5634 (1111) -- The Dwarfs seal their strongholds as the Black Plague sweeps the Old World. Skaven attacks on the Dwarfs are repulsed, but cause many casualties. *5919 (1396) -- The War for Karak Ghulg. Valkia the Bloody falls upon the northernmost Dwarf stronghold. One by one, the Dwarf positions are overrun by Valkia's army of violent madmen, the shield-lines of the mountain folk smashed asunder by the charges of Blood Reaper Knights and Chaos Warriors. Valkia orders her followers to open the fallen defenders' rib cages in a grotesque practice known as the bloodraven. Khorne is mightily impressed with Valkia's gory deeds and he names her as his mortal consort. *5943 (1420) -- The great Dragon Skaladrak Incarnadine ravages the lands around Karak Kadrin. *6235 (1712) -- High King Kendrak Gottrison attacks and destroys the remnants of Orc Warlord Gorbad Ironclaw's army as it limps back towards the Badlands. *6533 (2010) -- Battle of Hunger Wood. The Dwarfs fight many battles alongside the Empire in the Wars of the Vampire Counts. They take part in the Night Siege of Castle Tempelhof and the defeat of the Vampire Countess Emmanuelle. *6728 (2205) -- In the Battle of Black Falls Dwarf High King Alrik and Goblin Warlord Gorkil Eyegouger are both slain while fighting along the rim of Black Falls. The Goblin Warlord is mortally wounded, but pulls his adversary to his doom over the falls. The Dwarfs, led by Alriksson are so enraged they rout the remaining greenskins in a massacre. *6825-6913 (2302-2390) -- ''War in the Mountains''. Valmir Aesling marshals his host at the Dwarfen hold of Kraka Drak. Unable to halt the march of the Chaos Warriors, King Silverbeard is forced to fell the mountain itself to prevent Valmir from invading other Dwarf holds. The ensuing avalanche buries Kraka Drak, and all within, beneath millions of tones of rock, entombing Valmir and his warriors inside the stronghold with the Dwarfs. Though it takes decades of bitter fighting Valmir succeeds in slaughtering every last Dwarf in the doomed hold. *6825 (2302) -- The conclusion of the ''Great War Against Chaos''. A large force out of Karaz-a-Karak marches to aid Kislev. High King Alriksson distinguishes himself in battle and is honoured by Magnus the Pious. The Age of Reckoning *6827 (2304) -- Newly crowned High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer sets out to reclaim what was once the territory of the Dwarfs. Mad Dog Pass is retaken and held. *6844 (2321) -- Battle of Bloodwater Sound. After destroying the fleets of the Human realms, a Skaven fleet rampages along the coasts of the Old World looting and destroying. Dwarf Ironclads from Barak Varr seek out and defeat the Skaven in the Black Gulf. *6873 (2350) -- The Engineers' Guild in Karaz-a-Karak is destroyed by explosions caused by Burlok Damminson and Sven Hasselfriesian's pressure vessel experiments. *6943 (2420) -- Grom the Paunch of Misty Mountain rampages through the Worlds Edge Mountains, defeating a throng sent to oppose him at the Battle of Irongate. *6996 (2473) -- Through many battles, Belegar, descendant of King Lunn, establishes a foothold within Karak Eight Peaks and declares himself King of that ancient hold. *7017 (2494) -- No fewer than five Black Arks sail down the Black Gulf and blockade the Dwarfhold of Barak Varr. Outnumbered and overmatched, King Gundadrakk orders his folk and their vessels of war to retreat behind the great sea gates. On this occasion, however, the Dark Elves do not seek the hold's destruction. Indeed, they are well content with their tithe of prisoners, who are soon put to work in Naggaroth's mines. *7021 (2498) -- Battle of the Jaws. A Dwarf army heading south to reinforce Karak Eight Peaks is attacked as it moves through Mad Dog Pass. The Dwarfs, led by Duregar, destroy the attacking Orcs and move southwards. The Dwarf army is ambushed once more at the ''Battle at the East Gate'' of Karak Eight Peaks, but fights its way through to the stronghold with heavy losses. *7026 (2503) -- An Orc attack plunders Karak Azul and captures King Kazador's family, hauling them off to captivity in Black Crag except for Kazrik, the King's son, who is shaven and left behind, nailed in place onto his father's throne. It takes over a decade before Thorgrim Grudgebearer can free all the captives and track down and slay the Orc leaders responsible. *7033 (2510) -- Ungrim Ironfist leads his armies to defeat the rampaging Orc hordes of Gnashrak Badtoof. The campaign culminates with the Battle of Broken Leg Gully, where the Ogre mercenary Golgfag aids the Dwarfs, but later betrays them — a crime for which Ungrim promises he will one day pay. *7038 (2515) -- Ungrim Ironfist beats, captures and then ultimately releases Golgfag Maneater, saying it would be more sporting to hunt him down later. *7042 (2519) -- The Battle of a Hundred Cannons. Greenskins attack Zhufbar but fail to breach the defenses before Thorgrim Grudgebearer and Ungrim Ironfist arrive leading armies to destroy the foe. When a marauding Ogre force appears — the true cause of the greenskin disturbance — the throngs unite with an Empire army from Nuln to destroy the Ogres in the largest concentration of artillery ever seen before. *7045 (2522) -- High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer leads a throng to Nagashizzar in an attempt to free the future Everqueen of Ulthuan, who is the prisoner of the Vampire Mannfred von Carstein. Their quest fails and leads to a falling out with Prince Tyrion and the High Elves. After the battle, the Dwarfs force march north to Karak Eight Peaks. Source * : Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (8th Edition) ** : pg. 20 ** : pg. 21 * : Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition) ** : pg. 14 ** : pg. 15 * : Warhammer Armies: Tomb Kings (8th Edition) ** : pg. 21 * : Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (8th Edition) ** : pg. 31 * : Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (6th Edition 2005) ** : pg. 16 ** : pg. 17 ** : pg. 18 * : Grudgelore ** : pg. 85 Category:Dwarf Category:Runescribes Guild Category:Timelines Category:D Category:T